Plants in Bangkok, where orchids are farmed within the city itself
Orchids are farmed in Samut Sakhon, Ratchaburi, Nonthaburi and within Bangkok itself, which is one reason plants in Bangkok so often mean a flowering orchid. A gift plant bought here will spend its life on a windowsill in an air-conditioned condo rather than in a nursery, so the real choice is between a flowering orchid, a cactus and a succulent behind glass.
A moth orchid in a pot, a box of stems or a cut bouquet
A Phalaenopsis, the moth orchid sold in a pot, flowers for two to three months once it is in bloom, while cut orchid stems in a vase last two to three weeks. Choosing the format is, in practice, choosing how long the gift stays part of someone's life.
A potted plant stays with the person who receives it, and once its flowers drop the same plant can be brought back into bloom rather than thrown out. For anyone who wants to buy a potted orchid in Bangkok rather than cut stems, that is the difference worth knowing before anything else. A box or a bouquet of cut orchids is a different kind of gift, built for one evening or, at best, a couple of weeks on a table, with nothing left to look after once the stems fade. Among the flowering plants, 7 Orchids in a Box groups cut stems for that shorter use, while Orchid Bouquet No. 1 is arranged the same way, as a bouquet rather than a plant meant to be kept.
Under the air-con: where a moth orchid flowers again in Bangkok
A moth orchid is an epiphyte, a plant that in the wild clings to tree bark rather than growing in soil, and the clear pot it is sold in lets anyone check whether that bark is still damp. Healthy roots show through the plastic as firm and silvery-white; roots gone grey and papery mean the plant has waited too long for water. Watering about once a week is usually enough, and any water left standing in the saucer afterwards should be tipped away. The leaves and the centre of the plant, where new growth starts, are kept dry throughout.
Direct sun scorches the leaves, so a moth orchid does not belong on an open balcony in Bangkok. A new flower spike only forms once daytime temperatures drop below 27°C, and even in December, the city's coolest month, daytime readings still sit around 33°C. Indoors, where air-con can hold a room within roughly 19 to 30°C by day and 16 to 19°C by night, the plant stands a real chance of flowering again; left to the city's own heat, it will not. Once a spike has finished flowering, it is cut back above the second node, which is where the next spike is most likely to start from.
Cacti and succulents in open glass for muggy months
Succulents store water in their own fleshy leaves and stems, sometimes as much as nine-tenths of the plant's weight, because in the wild they grow in hot places where rain falls rarely. That stored reserve is exactly what makes them awkward inside a sealed glass container.
Bangkok's air runs at around 70 to 80 per cent humidity for much of the year, and a closed florarium would only trap more moisture around the roots. An open container suits succulents and cacti far better, which is why succulent florarium delivery in Bangkok tends to mean an open cube or an open drop rather than a sealed one; among the florariums, that open glass is the format built for exactly this. A cactus from the cactus plants selection sits just as comfortably in one. Watering stays occasional, a light pass with a spray bottle rather than a soak, since the plant already carries its own supply. The rosette sometimes sold as a stone rose fits the same open glass, though the name is a trade one rather than a species.
An orchid for a friend or a colleague: plant delivery in Bangkok
In Thai tradition the orchid stands for friendship and support, which makes it a natural choice for a colleague or a friend rather than only for a partner. Anyone looking to send a plant as a gift in Bangkok, for someone recovering from an illness or moving into a new office, finds the orchid already carries that meaning on its own.
Each plant is put together to order and photographed before the courier sets off, and plant delivery in Bangkok is free within the city centre, with the rest on the delivery page. Hotel guests, orders placed from abroad and the city's own gift-giving dates work much the same way as for cut flowers, set out on the hotel guests, orders from abroad and Thai dates page.
A sensible place to start is the potted plants by type selection, which sorts the choice by plant rather than by format. Flowering plants cover anything meant to bloom again, while floralariums cover the glass format for a succulent or a cactus instead.